‘That’s just who he was’: Elvis Presley's girlfriend of four years Linda Thompson had resigned herself to singer's infidelity
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Elvis Presley is the undisputed "King of Rock n Roll", but there was no undisputed queen of his heart, revealed Presley’s girlfriend of four years, Linda Thompson. Thompson reminisced about her time with the ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ singer in several interviews where she threw light on that side of Presley that defined his romantic philosophy.
Thompson, who was crowned Miss Tennessee in the early 1970s, recalled in her memoir, ‘A Little Thing Called Life: On Loving Elvis Presley, Bruce Jenner, and Songs in Between’, that Presley ruined most of his romantic connections because of his philandering ways. Moreover, he had different ideas regarding the affairs of men and women. Thompson was with Presley for more than four years before they broke up in 1976. Less than a year later, Presley was found dead at his Graceland home on August 16, 1977, by his then girlfriend Ginger Alden.
‘That’s just who he was’
Linda Thompson and Presley began their relationship in the early 1970s just a few months after the ‘Love Me Tender’ singer's divorce from his wife Priscilla Presley. Thompson reminisced in a bitter-sweet manner of Presley’s unfaithfulness, “There’s right, there’s wrong, there’s black, there’s white, and then there’s Elvis Presley,” and added, “That’s just who he was.”
In a CNN interview with Larry King, the ‘Hee Haw Honey’ actress recalled Presley’s infamous affairs. She said, “I know he saw other girls.” However, she acknowledged that the ‘Return to Sender’ crooner was not unfaithful in the first year of their relationship. She said, “Not the first year. The first year we were together, I think he broke his world record for having been faithful.” She substantiated her claim by saying, “I know that he didn’t because we were together the first year, 365 days for that first year, 24 hours a day. And after that, you know, he couldn’t do much without it being public knowledge. And certainly, I was no dummy.”
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But Presley wasn’t without remorse. He would often feel bad for being unfaithful. But Thompson shared that she tried to pacify her mind thinking that everything wasn’t “all about sex.” She shared, “I tried to reconcile in my mind; this is Elvis Presley. I understand that he is secluded from the rest of the world, and it’s not all about sex.” Highlighting the need for human connection and warmth for a star like Presley, she said, “It’s not all about being physically unfaithful to me. He wanted to be surrounded by other people who might bring different ideas into his life.”
The saving grace was that Presley always apologized after cheating, telling her things like, "you’re the only person I love, and nobody ever compares to you," or "every time I have an indiscretion, it just makes me realize how much more you mean to me." Thompson said in the interview, “Most of the time, he denied it. Then he apologized profusely,” adding, "And I would always forgive him.”
‘A man can have an affair, and it means nothing’
Thompson recalled in her book that Presley had different ideas about a man and a woman’s take on cheating. She shared in her memoir that Presley thought “men and women differed when it came to the affairs of the heart,” before adding his saying. “A man can have an affair, and it means nothing. It doesn’t mean I’m falling in love with her. But women aren’t built like that.”
She shared her hurt caused by his indiscretions by reminiscing, “None of his words could make up for the fact that I was deeply hurt by his need to be with other women.” In fact, cheating was the reason for their break up too. Thompson once shared with Daily Mail that Presley flew her out to San Francisco to attend a concert. As she entered the hotel room she understood, he was probably cheating on her. When she held Presley emotionally, and told him, "Honey, if there’s another woman, just be honest with me,” he broke down and "tearfully pledged his love and loyalty" to Thompson. But she had enough of the relationship and decided to “walk away”. It also happened to be the last time she saw Elvis Presley alive.
